


Long Nights

by bansheequeen (queenbanshee), xtremeroswellian



Series: Moving Targets [6]
Category: Smallville
Genre: Angst, Arguments, F/M, Heart to Hearts, Stubborn Oliver, Trying to learn how to be just friends, What a joke, stubborn chloe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:08:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24223294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: In their search for answers, Chloe and Oliver make their way to the nation’s capital, but business ends up being the last purpose of the trip when other matters catch their attention.
Relationships: Martha Kent & Chloe Sullivan, Martha Kent/Perry White (background), Oliver Queen/Chloe Sullivan
Series: Moving Targets [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748179
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

**Talon Apartment, Smallville -- November 12, 2010**

Frustration had been the keyword since Chloe was let go from the hospital almost two weeks ago. Her arm was better but still not fully healed, same with her ribs. So while she was allowed to walk, mobility was still limited, typing made her shoulder hurt so much, it burned and picking things up was completely out of the question for another few weeks, so packing had been the most frustrating thing she had had to do all month.

She shoved another top in the suitcase with her good hand and stared at it. She had come to the Talon apartment to pick up more winter clothes for their next stop and all she had managed to do was throw them in the bag, she couldn't even fold them and when she had tried, the pain had just made her feel more useless and, well, _frustrated_. So the ball of clothes in the suitcase would have to do, now she just had to figure out how to _close_ the overstuffed bag with one hand.

Chloe had agreed on going back to Star City with Oliver, but about a week ago, the informant had contacted them, letting them know Lex had left town, and the team started talking about it, when Bart, out of the blue and in a moment of clarity, suggested that the informant could be Mrs. Kent. It all made sense. She had been the Red Queen, after all, she knew all of their secrets and she would probably want to protect them if she could, but with Clark being gone, she had been keeping to herself more than usual, besides, living in DC and being a member of the US senate, she had to worry about more than Lex hacking in on her conversations.

So they had agreed on making a stop in DC before heading to California, Chloe had given Martha a call and made arrangements for them to meet, they were supposed to leave in another day or so, but of course, she couldn't go anywhere if she couldn't close the _damn_ suitcase.

Oliver poked his head in the door. "How's it going?"

She looked up from her position, where she had finally sat down over the suitcase to try and close it and just sighed at him, making a face.

He offered her a tiny smile and stepped inside. "Let me help," he said softly, giving her good arm a gentle squeeze. "You'll be better before you know it." He reached out and tucked her clothes into the suitcase better, closed the lid and zipped it shut.

Chloe pushed herself up with her good arm and winced a little when her ribs protested the movement but stood up straight anyway, "thanks," she told him, "I can't wait for _that_ to happen."

Oliver nodded slightly. "Is this everything?" he asked, picking up the suitcase.

"From here," she nodded, "the rest of my stuff is in the Watchtower," and the other part of it was in the house in Star City. Her things seemed to be all over the place, just like she was.

He met her eyes. "All right. Then off to Watchtower we go."

"Thanks, I'm pretty sure I couldn't carry that downstairs," she grabbed her keys from the bed and took a deep breath, if the mood she was in was anything to go by, she would probably have kicked it downstairs and all the way out the door.

"It's okay, Chloe," he told her, glancing at her sideways as they walked out of the bedroom.

"I just can't stand being handicapped," she sighed, following him, "and I know it's my own damn fault, but still."

"You're _not_ handicapped. You're recovering," he corrected her.

"Until I'm recovered, same difference," she told him, turning off all the lights before locking the place up.

A small, amused smile touched his lips and he shook his head, falling silent.

Chloe squinted a little at the look on his face as she followed him down the stairs, "what?"

"Nothing. You're just a terrible patient," he teased.

She actually smirked at that, raising her eyebrows a little, "yeah, you should talk."

Oliver grinned at that. "Clearly you've spent way too much time around me."

"Nah," Chloe shook her head, "I've always been this bad, unfortunately, that's not something I can blame on you."

He chuckled. "Good to know."

She watched him for a moment then followed him to the bottom of the stairs, "are we leaving tomorrow?"

Oliver nodded slightly, moving over to the door and opening it for her. "First thing in the morning," he told her. "We should land in D.C. by ten."

Chloe nodded too and took a deep breath, "I will let Mrs. Kent know we can have lunch tomorrow, then."

"I can't believe it didn't occur to either of us that it could be Mrs. Kent," he admitted, following her outside.

"I know," she agreed, pulling her coat closed around herself, it was already getting cold and she hadn't even noticed it was dark outside, she didn't think she had been in there all that long, "but hopefully, Bart is right about this one, I know I would feel a lot more comfortable with it."

"You and me both," he admitted, resting his free hand at the small of her back without thinking about it.

She glanced up at him and raised her eyebrows a little, "I guess we'll find out soon enough."

He nodded a little, guiding her to his car. "Yeah, we will," he murmured. He flinched a little as a streak of lightning flashed through the sky, followed by an almost instant rumble of thunder.

Chloe made a face and glanced up, then over at Ollie, "guess we better hurry."

"Yeah, good idea." He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, making sure she was in the car before he closed the door. He slid her suitcase into the small trunk of his car and then climbed into the driver's seat.

She managed to buckle the seatbelt and waited for him to get inside, seconds after he closed the door, it started pouring down, she raised an eyebrow, "good timing."

He flashed her a grin. "I try."

Chloe shook her head a little and smiled softly at him then adjusted on her seat, "are you coming to lunch tomorrow too?"

He glanced at her sideways. "I figured you'd probably rather have a private lunch with Mrs. Kent."

"I don't mind either way," she told him, reaching inside her purse and picking up her phone with one hand, "I'm sure she will want to see you after lunch if you don't come."

His eyebrows furrowed at that. "Why?"

"Because she's Mrs. Kent," she told him, shrugging her good shoulder as she typed a text, "she kinda feels responsible for all of us, it's a... motherly thing, I guess."

"Yeah, but she barely knows _me_." He glanced at her again.

"She always asks about you," she pointed out, glancing at him once she finished her message and pressed send, "you're part of our lives and she knows what you do and how much you help."

Oliver nodded a little, looking back at the road and falling silent.

Chloe watched him for a long moment then looked at the road too, it was still raining heavily, "I should make a better effort to keep up with her, she doesn't really have anyone with Lois in Kenya and Clark gone."

"Yeah," he murmured. "I'm sure her senate position keeps her busy but I bet it gets lonely."

"Yeah," Chloe agreed quietly, "and she has Mr. White, but he works a lot too and, well, there is only so much he knows."

He nodded a little, his fingers tightening a little around the steering wheel. "Yeah, I can't really imagine what that's like."

She just pursed her lips together and sighed softly, she knew and she knew how hard it was to be in a relationship and try to make it work when the other person has no idea who you _really_ are, because like it or not, their secret lives was what really shaped all of them.

He glanced at her sideways. He reached out and gave her hand a quick squeeze before returning his hand to the steering wheel.

Chloe sat up a little when her phone beeped, she picked the phone up from her lap and nodded, "she confirmed lunch for tomorrow."

"Good," he said with a slight nod, pulling the car up in front of Watchtower and parking it. He glanced at her sideways again, then looked out the window. It was pouring down.

She unbuckled her seatbelt but made no move to leave the car, sighing softly. "I guess we should leave the suitcase in here for now."

"We should wait til it slows down," he murmured, looking up.

Chloe looked out the window and nodded a little, "yeah, I guess we should."

He was quiet for a moment, leaning back in his seat. "You ever been to D.C. before?"

She shook her head and leaned against her seat too, "no, I've always wanted to go, though. I assume you have?"

He smiled a bit. "Yeah, a few times," he admitted, glancing at her. "We could hit a couple of hot spots while we're there. You know, since we'll already be in the city."

She smiled a little too and nodded, "sounds nice, maybe we could go to the Spy Museum."

"There's a Spy Museum?" He raised his eyebrows, surprised.

Chloe grinned softly and nodded, "Lois went, she always talks about it, apparently you even get to go on a mission if you want to."

He grinned back at her, relaxing. "Sounds like fun."

"Yeah, maybe we could pick up some tricks," she told him, smiling softly.

"Or teach them some new ones," he teased.

Smirking, she nodded a little, "I'm sure, it's not like they had the technology we have now, not the most famous spies in history, anyway."

"Like Bond." He grinned brightly.

"Well, Bond is a fictional one," she smiled at his enthusiasm, "I take it you're a fan?"

"Only Connery's version," he admitted.

"Really? I kinda liked Brosnan and I did like Casino Royale a lot, but Quantum of Solace was awful." She told him, relaxing a little more.

"I've actually not seen those," he confessed, smiling at her.

"I guess we should change that, at least Casino," she smiled a little and shrugged, "Pete had a Bond obsession growing up, he kinda got me into it, well into the newer movies, I just kinda fell asleep during the older ones."

"Ouch," he teased. "Not a Sean Connery fan, huh?"

"No, I like Sean Connery," she shrugged, "I just like Indiana Jones better than James Bond."

"Indiana Jones is pretty awesome," he agreed with a nod.

Chloe nodded, smiling over at him, "yeah, I haven't seen the new one, though."

"Sounds like we need a movie night." He grinned.

"I guess we do," she agreed, leaning her head back against the seat and turning it to look at him, "something we can try to do when we get to Star City, I guess."

Oliver rested his head against the seat, as well, gazing back at her. "Sounds like fun," he said with a nod.

"Yeah," she agreed quietly, watching him, "I can't remember the last time I did something like that."

"Had a movie night?"

"Yeah," she told him, "not like there's a TV at the Watchtower."

"Yeah, I don't remember the last time I had a movie night either," he told her, thinking about it for a moment. "We're always too busy."

Chloe nodded slightly, "well, with everything that happened this past year," she paused for a moment, looking away from him, "stopping Zod was more important than watching movies."

He sighed softly, looking down for a moment. "And now with Lex back..."

"Yeah," she agreed quietly, pursing her lips together, "do you think it ever slows down?"

Oliver was silent for a moment. "No," he said softly. "Not really. There's always going to be another bad guy causing trouble, more people who need our help. I don't think it will slow down."

"I think you're right," she agreed quietly. She just wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. A year ago, she would have been glad to have more work than she could handle but then when she and Oliver started to get closer and closer, she felt herself wanting breaks, wanting to be able to spend time with him that had nothing to do with work but now, she didn't really know anymore.

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "It's tiring sometimes," he admitted, gazing at her. "You feel it too, don't you?"

"Yeah," Chloe turned to look at him, "but I guess we are lucky enough to have the team and when one of us needs a break, we can take it and know we're not leaving people completely without help."

He considered that for a moment. "Except we don't really take those breaks," he said softly.

"No," she said quietly, "but there is some comfort in knowing we can."

Oliver nodded a little, watching her for a moment. "Maybe we should take a break. You know, a short one anyway."

Chloe took a deep breath and watched him back, "what would we do?"

"I don't know. Something fun." A small smile touched his lips. "Or nothing at all. Find some quiet, secluded beach and just lay around."

"Oh," she nodded a little and took a deep breath, looking ahead again, "that sounds nice," except being with him, alone, without the excuse of work around also sounded like torture.

"Maybe over Christmas break or something. Mia would probably love to get away for awhile." He looked ahead, as well.

Chloe raised an eyebrow and relaxed a little at the mention of Mia, "maybe we can just do something nice in Star City for Christmas, for everyone."

Oliver nodded slightly, not at all surprised by her suggestion. Keeping up the team's morale was one of her specialties. "Yeah. That'd be nicer."

She nodded a little and smiled slightly at him, "yeah, give everyone a break."

He smiled back faintly, relaxing more against his seat as the rain continued to pound down against the car. "Need to start Christmas shopping soon."

"I haven't even thought about what I wanna get anyone," she admitted, rubbing her hands together, doing her best not to move her shoulder, "maybe we can walk around DC a little, see if we find anything."

Oliver glanced over at her, nodding. "Yeah, that's a good idea." He gazed at her for a moment. "We should go by the White House, too. They light up a bunch of Christmas trees around it."

"Do you think they will already have Christmas decorations up? I mean we still have Thanksgiving to go," she pointed out, turning slightly on her seat, toward him.

"Maybe," he said, turning so he was facing her, as well. "We can hope."

"Yeah," she smiled a little, relaxing against the seat, "I guess we can stay a few days longer there."

Oliver met her eyes and smiled softly. "Hey, maybe you could even meet the president."

"Sure," she smirked a little and shook her head, "did you ever meet one of them?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I've met three of them," he informed her with a smirk.

Chloe raised her eyebrows back and sat up, wincing when the movement made her ribs hurt a little, "which ones?" She asked curiously, watching him.

He frowned a little when she winced, but resisted the temptation to ask if she was okay. "The current one and the last two," he told her with a small smile.

"Why did you meet them?" She asked, leaning back again because sitting up wasn't really comfortable.

"During political campaigns," he admitted, shrugging out of his jacket and handing it to her. "Try putting this behind you. Should help."

Chloe paused and frowned a little, "you'll be cold," she told him, shaking her head.

"I patrol in a sleeveless leather uniform after dark. I'm hearty." He winked at her.

She hesitated for a moment then nodded a little, sitting up and taking the jacket, "but tell me if you get cold."

"I will," he promised.

After adjusting the jacket, she sat back with a soft sigh, "thank you," she whispered.

"You're welcome," he said softly, gazing at her for a moment.

Chloe looked back at him and smiled softly, then looked away. Mostly to ignore the urge she kept having to reach out and touch him.

"This is better," Oliver said quietly, closing his eyes.

"Better?" She asked, her voice just as quiet as his.

"Us," he whispered. "Just...talking. I've missed it."

Pursing her lips together, she nodded a little and let out her breath, turning her head a little to watch the rain, "I did too."

Oliver opened his eyes to gaze at her again, doing his best to resist the urge to reach over and take her hand. "Think the rain will stop anytime soon?" he murmured, hoping not.

She glanced at him then looked out the window again, "I don't know, it doesn't look like it."

"No, it doesn't," he agreed softly.

Chloe pursed her lips together, "if we're going to be here for a while, maybe we should go through a drive-thru and pick up some food," because even though she was incredibly hungry, she really didn't want to get out of the car.

"Sure, we can do that," he agreed with a nod. "Any place in particular?"

"McDonalds is the closest," she told him quietly.

"Yeah, but you like that place close to the edge of town better, don't you? Dirty's?" He smiled a bit and turned so he was sitting face-forward in his seat once more.

"Oh," her face flushed slightly but she raised her eyebrows a little, she shouldn't have been surprised that he'd know which her favorite greasy place in town was, but she would have to do her best not to let him know the information actually gave her butterflies, "they don't really have a drive-thru."

"It's okay. If you'd rather go there, you can just tell me what you want and I'll go in and order."

"No," she shook her head, placing a hand on his arm before she could stop herself, "I don't want you to get wet."

Oliver smiled faintly at that. "Afraid I'll catch a cold?" he teased.

"It's really cold out and the whole point of us waiting here is so we don't get wet, right?" She paused and held her breath, "if you're going to walk outside, we might as well just go upstairs," she suggested, hoping he wouldn't agree to that.

He contemplated that for a moment, then nodded. "McDonalds it is."

She let her breath out as silently as possible and nodded, a tiny smile on her lips, "okay, that works."

"They have the best fries anyway." He smiled, starting his car once more. "But don't tell anyone I said that."

Chloe raised her eyebrows in surprise then smile, "your secret is safe with me."

Oliver smiled at that. "Always has been."

Holding his gaze, she smiled and nodded.

He gazed at her a moment longer, then shifted his car into drive.

Chloe relaxed back against the seat and sighed softly once she found a more comfortable position, this was the most time they had been around each other lately and they both seemed comfortable with it, she just hoped things stayed that way.


	2. Chapter 2

**Les Halles Restaurant, Washington D.C.-- November 14, 2010**

They had made it to DC a day later than planned, the storm had rested all night and because of the cold weather, most of the roads had been iced the next morning, Chloe and Oliver had actually ended up falling asleep in his car, parked in front of the Watchtower, and had almost not had been able to get out the next morning because the ice had frozen the doors in place.

But they had arrived that morning and although it was a lot colder in DC, there was no chance of rain, so Chloe made her way to the restaurant Mrs. Kent had suggested, Oliver had chosen to stay at the hotel, promising her he would research places they could visit while she was out to lunch. She got there a few minutes early and found the other woman in a booth toward the back, although the restaurant was an upscale french bistro, it was famous for its fries and the atmosphere was relaxed and loud enough that they should be able to talk without interruptions.

Martha smiled softly at her as she spotted her. "Chloe." She rose to her feet, hugging the younger woman. "It's so good to see you. I was disappointed I missed you when I visited Smallville."

Chloe winced at the hug, but returned it carefully, "I was sorry I missed you too," she told Martha, smiling a little, "it's good to see you again."

She pulled away, a worried frown furrowing her eyebrows as she noticed the sling. "What on earth happened?"

Pursing her lips together, Chloe smiled a little, "I was trying to prove a point?" She made a face and motioned to the table with her good hand, waiting for Mrs. Kent to take her seat then sitting down on the opposite side of the booth.

Martha's frown deepened but she sat down across the table from Chloe anyway. "Did you?"

"I proved the other person right," she said sheepishly. Talking to Mrs. Kent was the closest Chloe had to talking to a mother figure since her own mom left, even after she found Moira again, they hadn't had much time together.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah," she assured her quietly, sipping on her water, "how have you been, Mrs. Kent?"

Martha studied her for a moment, then nodded a little. "I've been all right," she said quietly. "Things are quiet. It's a nice change."

"Quiet?" Chloe smiled softly and raised her eyebrows, "not sure I understand the word."

A small smile graced the older woman's lips. "I suppose you don't."

"You would know," Chloe said quietly, smiling softly at the older woman, as much as she wanted to catch up with her, she wanted to talk about the subject she was really there for.

"Not quite as well as you," Martha answered knowingly, taking a sip of her tea.

Chloe observed the older woman for a long moment, "like me, you work behind the scenes a lot."

"Worked," she corrected Chloe. "Unless you're referring to my political position." She smiled faintly.

"Are you telling me you don't have anything else to do with our kind of business?" Chloe's eyes studied Mrs. Kent's features closely as she waited for an answer.

Martha's eyebrows furrowed a little and she leaned forward. "Not lately. Is something going on that I need to?" There was worry in her tone.

Her worry and confusion were honest and Chloe's stomach dropped a little, "you mean you don't know?"

"What's going on, Chloe?" She shook her head a little.

With a deep breath, Chloe leaned forward, "you didn't hear that Lex is alive?"

Martha stared at her with wide eyes. "How is that possible?" she whispered, leaning forward, as well.

"We don't know..." she whispered back, disappointment clear on her face, "I have... an anonymous source. I was hoping it was you."

Understanding dawned on her features and she sighed softly. "Oh. I'm sorry. For what it's worth, I wish it was me, too."

"Whoever this is, they know our codenames, and they are good at hiding," Chloe admitted quietly.

"That's unsettling," she murmured worriedly. She gazed at Chloe intently. "I can look into it from my end of things, see if I can find out anything."

"I would appreciate that," Chloe nodded, "according to my informant, he was in Kansas about three weeks ago, but he left a week after that."

"And knowing Lex, he's probably up to no good," Martha said quietly. "I hope you're all being very careful."

"We're doing our best," Chloe promised, her voice quiet.

"And if there's any other way I can help, I hope you know you can call me anytime." She gazed at Chloe. "You've been such a wonderful friend to Clark, and to me. I hope you know that."

Her chest tightened a little at the mention of Clark but Chloe nodded, trying for a soft smile, "I know, and of course we will be here as fast as Bart can run us if you need anything."

Martha smiled a little at that. "How is Bart?"

"He's doing good," Chloe assured her, "we are operating from Star City now."

"Oh." There was a hint of surprise in her tone.

"When we thought Clark was..." Chloe trailed off, "Ollie suggested leaving Metropolis, he figured a different place might make things easier." She admitted, her voice quiet, her chest tight, Ollie had been through so much trouble for her, he had done so much to make her comfortable and all she did was push him away. Even if she honestly believed that in the long run, this was better for both of them, it didn't mean she enjoyed hurting him as much as she had been.

Martha studied her for a moment. "How is Oliver?"

She held her breath for a moment and took a long sip of water then nodded at Mrs. Kent, "he's doing well," her face softened into a small smile, "he's here, but he thought we would want some time to catch up during lunch."

She caught the flash of pain in Chloe's eyes. "And the two of you are doing all right?" She raised an eyebrow.

Chloe shifted on her seat a little, Lois had mentioned Mrs. Kent said congratulations when she had heard about Chloe and Oliver, so she knew the older woman knew something was going on between them, "we're doing okay," Chloe almost believed her words when she spoke them out loud, "but we're not... we're back to friends-only status."

Martha paused. "Oh?" She shook her head a little, sipping her tea. "What happened?"

"Nothing, really," Chloe cleared her throat, her chest tight, "it was just... complicated and, if things didn't work out, we'd just end up hurting each other and we have to work together so it's better to keep things as simple as possible."

"Love is always complicated, Chloe," she said quietly. "But you can't let fear stop you from trying."

Chloe took a deep breath, her eyes tearing up slightly, "it's not about love, Mrs. Kent, the team and our missions, they have to be our priorities... when feelings get in the way, and if things don't work out and we can't stand each other anymore, we can't risk it, we have to be a team first."

"And you don't think it's even slightly possible you could function better as a team with the two of you together?" Martha gazed at her.

"Yeah," she answered before she could stop herself, then quickly shook her head, "but that won't last forever and when it's over, it will be much worse."

Martha paused again. "What makes you so sure it won't last forever?"

Chloe smiled sadly at that and shrugged, shaking her head, "nothing does."

Her eyes softened and she looked down at the table for a moment. "Is it because of Oliver's history?" she asked quietly.

She paused, raising her eyebrows at the older woman and shook her head, leaning back against her seat, "no, it's because of mine."

Martha set her cup down on the table. "I see," she murmured, studying her for a moment. "Would you like some advice?"

With a deep breath, Chloe considered her answer for a moment then nodded hesitantly, even if she was afraid of having to consider whatever advice Mrs. Kent was about to give her, she was interested in hearing what the other woman thought, she had been the one to talk Chloe through more than one difficult situation growing up, be that boys or tampons vs. pads and she knew Mrs. Kent had been through her share of complicated situations too.

She smiled faintly and reached across the table, covering Chloe's hand with her own. "Life is short. And it's so precious, Chloe," she whispered. "We never know how long the people we love will be with us. Don't let fear keep you from being happy, even if things are complicated."

Chloe watched Martha for a moment then took a deep breath as she tried to stop herself from crying, "I will try," she whispered. If she thought about it that way, that she might lose Oliver, it did make her feel like she should just say screw everything and _be_ with him. But on the other hand, if she allowed all her feelings for him to take over and then she lost him... she didn't know if she could go through that.

"It's worth it," Martha said softly, squeezing her hand for a moment, then drawing back and picking up her glass of tea once more.

With another deep breath, Chloe looked at the table for a moment then at the older woman, "how have _you_ been doing, Mrs. Kent?" With Clark gone, she knew it had to be hard on her.

She smiled faintly. "I'm all right, Chloe," she said quietly, hesitating a moment. "I'm sure Clark or Lois told you that I was seeing Perry White?"

"Clark didn't say much about it," Chloe admitted, then smiled a little, "Lois, however..."

Martha looked at her with amusement. "Yes, well." She sipped her tea. "He proposed."

Chloe stilled at that, her eyes widening, "he _did_?"

She nodded slightly, a small, uncertain smile touching her lips. "I haven't given him an answer," she admitted.

It was Chloe's turn to take Martha's hand and squeeze it, "well, what are you thinking? What did he say? I wanna know more about it."

Martha smiled a bit more at that. "Well, we were out at dinner. A cozy little romantic place. He told me he loved me and he asked me to marry him." She paused. "The ring is beautiful. I'm just not sure that..." Her voice trailed off. "I'm just not sure."

"You're not sure you're ready for that," Chloe nodded in understanding, "and he understands that, right?"

"He does. He told me to take as much time as I need." She paused. "So I am."

"Be sure to let me know what your answer is when you have it," Chloe told her, smiling, "I'm really glad things are working out between the two of you."

Martha smiled softly at Chloe. "We really have to stay in touch more often, Chloe," she said seriously.

"We do," Chloe agreed and took a deep breath then paused, smiling a little more, "we're planning on having a Christmas party of some kind in Star City, we haven't really planned anything yet but we thought it might be good for the team," she explained, "why don't you and Mr. White come spend Christmas with us?"

She considered that for a moment, then smiled. "I'll talk to him. I'm sure he'd love to. He was sorry he missed you when we were in town," she told Chloe with a nod.

"Oh," Chloe paused and raised her eyebrows, "I'm surprised he remembers me at all..."

"Apparently you left quite an impression on him." She smiled, amusement twinkling in her eyes.

"Well, I couldn't let him ruin the image of my role model," Chloe pointed out, smiling.

"And he very much appreciated that," Martha said.

"I was glad to see his articles again, he's such an amazing reporter," Chloe said sincerely, and if she was still working in the field, she would be dying to work with him.

"Yes, he is," she agreed softly, nodding a little.

Chloe took a deep breath and relaxed a little against her seat, sipping on her water, "is he in town?"

"He's in Africa right now," Martha told her, shaking her head.

"Oh," Chloe's eyebrows rose a little at that, "is he in Kenya too?" Because last time she had spoken with her cousin, Lois hadn't mentioned anything about Perry.

"Chasing some kind of story." She smiled a bit.

"I assume he has given up on uncovering the Red Queen's identity?" Chloe asked carefully.

"I doubt it. But considering how quiet the Red Queen has been, I'm afraid that trail's gone cold," Martha answered with a tiny smile.

Chloe nodded, smiling softly, "think you will ever be able to come clean about that one?"

"I won't risk it," she said, shaking her head a little.

"Understandable," Chloe agreed quietly, "at least he's not asking anymore questions."

"Fortunately," Martha said just as quietly, sipping her tea as she watched Chloe. "How's everything else going, Chloe?"

"Everything else is going okay," Chloe said sincerely, opening the menu for the first time but not really paying any attention to it, "everything is okay with the team and they seem to have settled well in Star City, Lois calls every other day or so and she seems to be doing okay too, even if I'm not really happy with her being so far away."

"She misses you, too, but I'm sure you know that already."

"I do," Chloe smiled a little, "I'm sure this won't last all that long and I know she's doing this for her career, so I understand."

"She's lucky to have family that's so understanding," Martha said softly, nodding a little.

"I'm not sure the General feels the same," Chloe admitted, shifting on her seat and adjusting her sling, "but yeah, I try to be supportive."

Martha paused for a moment. "No, I suppose he probably doesn't. But sometimes parents get caught up too much in their own lives to notice their children have lives of their own."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing," Chloe pointed out, "that means the parents have lives of their own too and with grown kids, they should have."

"But not to the point where they don't see things that are happening and see that their children might need help."

"Mrs. Kent," Chloe shook her head a little, "Clark wasn't even letting _us_ help him, he wouldn't have wanted you to get involved and risk you getting hurt."

She sighed softly. "I don't think I understand where his mind's been," she admitted quietly. "But I suppose that's a moot point."

Chloe nodded slightly, "I wish I could help you figure things out, but I don't have an answer for you." Even all the time she had stayed in Metropolis after the others moved to Star City, she had barely even spoken with Clark at all.

At that moment, Martha's cell phone rang and she looked down at it, sighing softly. "I'm sorry, Chloe. I'm going to have to take this one. Will you excuse me?"

"Of course," Chloe nodded and leaned back against the seat, "take your time."

She smiled faintly, nodding, and rising to her feet, heading to the back corridor.

Chloe reached inside her purse and quickly texted Oliver, letting him know Martha wasn't the informant and that they would probably be a while, then she finally turned her attention to the menu and waited. Even though this trip hadn't helped them get any closer to Lex, she was still glad they had gone and that she could catch up with Mrs. Kent.


	3. Chapter 3

**Washington DC -- November 25, 2010**

A couple of days later found Oliver and Chloe walking leisurely down the streets of Washington D.C., just a few inches apart. They'd already visited the Washington Monument and the White House and were now window shopping for ideas for Christmas presents for the rest of the team.

"Do you have any ideas for Mia?" Chloe asked, adjusting her coat over her shoulder a little, they'd been out for a while and it was starting to weigh down a little. She was just glad she had been smart enough not to bring a purse.

He glanced at her sideways. "Think a car would be too much?" he asked uncertainly, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck.

Chloe raised her eyebrows a little and shook her head, "you can afford it and I'm sure she's never had one of her own before."

He nodded a little at that. "Yeah. But it's also kind of...I don't know. Insignificant, I guess?"

"What do you mean?" She asked, frowning a little.

"I mean it seems really impersonal?" He frowned, too.

She smirked a little and shook her head, "you might feel that way, but she's sixteen, Oliver," she shrugged a shoulder, "when I was sixteen and my dad let me have his old car, which was falling apart, by the way, he was the best dad ever."

He smiled a little, at that, glancing at her sideways. "Point taken."

Chloe nodded a little, "if you can think of a little something else she might like, go for it, but I think a car is a pretty great gift."

"Which begs the question."

"What question?" She asked curiously, looking from a store front to him.

"What do _you_ want for Christmas?" he asked casually, tucking his hands into his jacket pockets.

She raised her eyebrows and shook her head, "nothing, you bought me a satellite, that's birthday and Christmas combined for the next fifty years."

Oliver rolled his eyes at that. "Hardly."

"Yes, it is," she said seriously.

"The same thing could be said about a car, but I'm pretty sure Mia will still expect a birthday present in May," he teased.

"Mia is sixteen and never had anyone giving her presents before," Chloe pointed out, raising her eyebrows, "besides, that satellite cost more than hundreds of cars." She shook her head a little, "I'm serious, you don't have to get me anything."

"What if I want to?" he asked softly, glancing at her sideways.

She paused and looked at him for a moment then sighed softly, "just... don't go overboard, okay?"

"You mean I _can't_ buy you a moon for that satellite to orbit?" His lips quirked into a smile.

Chloe raised a single brow and gave him a look, "you're funny."

He grinned. "I try."

She smiled a little but shook her head, "anyway, I'm thinking of having Bart deliver Lois her Christmas present, she has awful connection there, so I think I'll link a wireless modem to the satellite and that way, she should be able to connect using our connection, I just need to check with Vic and make sure she can't access our network from it."

He nodded a little. "I'm sure you guys can figure something out." A seed of an idea planted itself in his mind at her words.

"Yeah," she said distractedly, turning to look over at a store front as they walked past it.

"You wanna go in?" he asked, nodding toward the store.

She looked up at him and nodded a little, shrugging, "sure, it looks interesting enough and I wouldn't mind stepping out of the cold for a while."

"Anytime you want to go back to the hotel it's fine, Chloe," he said softly, resting his hand at the small of her back and guiding her into the shop.

"I'm okay," she assured him then smiled a little, "but I have to say, I'm glad we get to go to California after this instead of Kansas." Since her conversation with Mrs. Kent she had been doing her best to just be herself with Oliver and speak her mind instead of holding back just because she didn't want him to read between the lines of what she was saying.

He glanced over at her. "Really?" There was a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Yeah," she admitted, "I don't mind the cold, but it will be nice to be somewhere that won't get much lower than the 50s."

Oliver smiled at that. "Like the beach?" 

"It would feel incredibly weird to go to the beach in December," she admitted, smiling softly at him. "Think it will be warm enough for that?"

"You mean you don't want to decorate a palm tree?" he teased.

She actually laughed softly at that, then shook her head as she picked up a snow globe to look at it, "I guess I will have to follow Californian Christmas traditions."

He watched her, a soft smile on his face. "I think most of them still put up real evergreens. You should be okay."

"Oh, good," she set the snow globe down and turned to look at him, "I won't feel completely out of place, then."

"We will need decorations because...unless the gang's picked some up, I don't have any," he confessed.

Chloe considered for a moment, "maybe we should get some and just surprise them?" She suggested.

"We could do that," he agreed, nodding.

"And I guess we should figure out what we will do about food..." Chloe said, looking around still, "unless Mrs. Kent offers to help, I don't know anything about cooking turkeys..."

"Mrs. Kent's coming?"

"Oh," Chloe paused and shook her head, "I don't know..." she looked away awkwardly for a moment, "I invited her, it didn't feel right to mention it and not ask if she wanted to come, is that okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine," he assured her. "She's like family anyway. And she knows about most of us." He smiled.

"Try all of us," Chloe smiled and shrugged her good shoulder, "she hacked my system when she was Red Queen, remember?"

He paused, then smiled a little. "Right." He shook his head. "We have weird lives."

"Took you this long to figure this out?" She teased.

He grinned. "Occasionally something just reminds me how weird."

"Things like the Spy Vs. Spy thing?" She pointed out, adjusting her coat, "and I'm ready to venture back out if you are."

He chuckled at her. "Yeah, like that. I'm ready." He followed her toward the door.

Chloe made her way outside and pulled her coat around her with her free hand, making a face, the sun had set so it was getting cold fast.

"It's a long way to the motel," he told her, glancing at her. "Why don't I hail us a cab?" he suggested.

She considered for a moment and nodded a little, "okay, better if neither one of us gets sick," she agreed.

"Agreed." Especially considering one of them was still injured. He smiled at her, and waved his hand as a taxi drove by them, then stopped.

It wasn't until she sat down inside the cab that she realized just how exhausted she was. Chloe sighed softly and leaned back against the seat as Oliver told the driver where they were going.

He leaned back, as well, glancing over at her with worried eyes. "You all right?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," she told him quietly, sitting up a little and pausing when she saw the worry in his eyes. He really needed to stop looking at her like that, "just tired," she assured him.

"Are you hungry? We could just order something in and call it an early night," he offered.

"Yeah," Chloe repeated, nodding, "we did a lot of walking today."

"Yeah, we did. Even _my_ feet hurt."

"And you are the one used to walking half the city every n-" she stopped herself and raised her eyebrows, "day."

"Exactly." He grinned at her.

"Although," she lowered her voice and leaned closer, "you use your arms half the time."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "Good point. No wonder my feet are tired."

Chloe smiled at him and nodded, raising her eyebrows then moving away to sit back against her seat. She wasn't going to say anything, but she really couldn't wait to get back and take some painkillers, while her feet hurt too, the weight of the coat and everything she had on her pockets pressing down against her shoulder was what was really bothering her.

A half hour later, the car pulled up in front of their hotel and he climbed out, reaching back to help her out of the car. "I don't know about you, but in addition to being tired, I'm starving."

"I got it," she told him, not really thinking about it and pushing herself out of the car, wincing a little and adjusting the sling once she was standing.

Oliver bit his lip, nodding a little and leading her into the hotel, opening the lobby door for her. "What sounds good for dinner?"

Chloe considered for a moment then shook her head, "I don't know, I haven't paid close attention to their menu."

"Me either. But if there's something you want that's not on there, I'm sure we can find a place that will deliver."

"Yeah, we can do some research in the area when we get upstairs," she suggested, she knew Oliver wasn't a big fan of hotel food, not that she blamed him, he probably had eaten at hotels more than his share of times and they did all taste the same, with the exception of that place in Germany, but that had just been a bad experience all together.

He smiled a bit, nodding as they headed toward the elevator. "We could fly home tomorrow, if you want," he told her as they walked. "Surprise everyone with an early arrival."

She leaned back against the elevator wall tiredly and raised her eyebrows, "they would be surprised, I just don't know if it would be a good surprise."

"Seeing our smiling faces? How could that _not_ be a good surprise?" he teased gently.

Chloe just smirked and shook her head, "if you like lying to yourself."

"You don't think they miss us at all?"

"Why do you think they sent _us_ on missions halfway across the world?" She teased.

Oliver paused at that, then gave her a mock pout. "All the more reason to come back early." He smirked. "Vengeance."

"We will torture them with our presence?" She considered, biting down on her bottom lip.

"Exactly." He grinned.

Chloe shook her head and started undoing her coat, "sounds like a plan."

Oliver smiled and nodded as the elevator doors slid open once more and they stepped out into the hallway. "Your room or mine?" he asked without thinking.

She stilled for a second, and was glad that he was ahead of us and hopefully didn't notice, because she had to purse her lips together not to say anything, "my laptop is in my room if we need to research restaurants," she said, reaching inside her coat pocket to look for her keycard.

"Okay. I'm gonna drop my coat off real quick," he told her, unlocking the door to his room with his keycard.

"Okay," she walked past his room and to the next door, opening it and stepping inside, leaving it slightly open for him.

He knocked softly a moment later.

Chloe didn't hear him knocking, she had taken her coat off and removed her sweater, her shoulder was hurting a lot and she had moved her arm far too much while trying to remove all the clothes, but to make matters worse, she couldn't seem to find the painkillers.

"Chloe?" He hesitantly stepped inside the door.

Once more, she didn't hear him, she had picked her purse up and was pouring the content over the table, all kinds of things making loud noises as they hit the wood, but she was getting desperate. If there was one thing she couldn't stand was to be in pain and worse, the feeling of not having control over her own body when she was in pain.

His eyebrows furrowed with worry and he stepped farther into the room. "Hey." His voice was louder this time. "Are you all right?"

She finally heard him and stopped, her back to him. "I'm fine." Her voice was strained because of the pain, even if she was trying to make it pass as just annoyance.

He studied her for a moment, a frown settling on his lips as he recognized her tensed posture. "You're in pain," he said quietly. And by the looks of it, a lot of pain. He moved over to her side, scanning the table but not seeing her bottle of pain pills. He looked down and smiled a bit, reaching down and picking the bottle off the floor. "Think this is what you were looking for."

Chloe turned to look at him, her jaw tight, her eyes glistening. She snatched the bottle from him and walked over to the other side of the room, opening the mini fridge and pulling out a bottle of water after she set the painkillers on top of the fridge, which she opened with her teeth, she knew that with the way her right arm was hurting, she wasn't going to have enough strength to open it with her hand.

Oliver watched her with worried eyes for a long moment. "You know, if you don't feel up to the plane ride tomorrow, we can just relax around the hotel," he said softly.

She didn't answer until she had taken two of the pills and had set the rest of the water back inside the fridge, "I'm fine."

"Right. All right." He gazed at her a moment longer, not believing it for a second.

With a deep, shaky breath, she willed herself to calm down but kept her back to him, "stop staring."

"Maybe you should lie down," he suggested softly. "We were out most of the day. You should get some rest, Chloe."

"I'm gonna go shower," she told him, "you can take the laptop, I'm not hungry."

Oliver frowned. "Chloe--"

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said without turning to face him, then walked into the bathroom and closed, then locked the door behind her.

He stared after her for a moment, then sighed heavily, rubbing a hand over his face. He moved to the phone beside her bed, dialed the number for room service and ordered her a cheeseburger and fries. He waited for it silently, hoping room service arrived before Chloe got out of the shower.

She took her time in the shower, letting the incredibly hot water fall on her shoulder until it got numb, because washing her hair had made it hurt even more and the pills were only now starting to kick in. It wasn't until about thirty minutes later that she finally made her way out of the bathroom, still dripping wet because drying herself properly was too much effort and wrapped in only a towel.

It was only when she started to make her way toward her suitcase that she noticed him sitting on her bed, "what are you doing here?"

Oliver froze as she came out wearing a towel.

_Only a towel._

He swallowed hard, then rose to his feet, his heart beating a little faster than normal. "I uh--I ordered you some food," he admitted. "It should be here soon."

Her jaw tightened immediately, more because of the way she saw his eyes widen and she knew _exactly_ what was going through his mind because she had seen that look plenty of times before, than because of the food, "I said I wasn't hungry." Even if she was lying, she was panicking now, because she couldn't stop herself from thinking of what she knew he was thinking and the _last_ thing they should do was sleep together.

Which meant she had to get rid of him quickly, before her body took over her brain.

"I know, but you shouldn't take painkillers like that on an empty stomach. Trust me," he said, shaking his head.

Painkillers. Empty stomach. Once the pills kicked in, she _really_ wouldn't have the willpower to keep him away, and he really needed to stop looking at her like that. Like he cared so much. Didn't he know it just made things worse? "I don't need a babysitter, Oliver."

A flash of hurt flickered over his face. "I'm not trying to babysit you, Chloe."

"Yes, you are. You are hovering over me like you're responsible for what happened. Like I can't do anything without making it worse, like I need _you_ to hold my hand through everything." She took a deep breath and she wasn't entirely sure what she was saying anymore, but she went on anyway, "I made the mess, you did enough by not letting him shoot me in the head, now let me clean up the rest," she said tightly, "and maybe, just maybe, you could pretend to listen to me when I say I'm _fine_ and leave me alone."

Oliver flinched a little, then his jaw tightened. " _Fine_. Excuse me for trying to be your friend, and you know, actually _giving_ a damn," he said shortly, turning and heading toward the door. "I'll see you in the morning."

Chloe followed, and the second he was out the door, she slammed it behind him, locked it then dead-bolted it. Letting out a long, deep breath once he was gone and leaning her forehead against the door, her chest tight, her head spinning. She wasn't entirely sure what had just happened, and she wasn't sure it was any better for their relationship than them sleeping together, but at least now, she could lay down, she would think about it in the morning.


End file.
